In an exclusive interview with Ojora Babatunde, former President of the Nigerian Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick, could not hide his joy and satisfaction as he reflected on the recent award win of Ademola Lookman, the talented player he brought into the national team setup during his tenure.
Ademola Lookman was born in England and he went on to represent the country in the European U19 championship, the 2017 FIFA U20 World Cup where he scored three goals and led the nation to their first victory in the final of a global tournament since the 1966 World Cup, and the European championship qualifiers for England U21.
After several tries and failures to convince Lookman to play for Nigeria, the Nigeria Football Federation finally announced that Lookman would be switching his international allegiance to Nigeria in January 2020. He went on to make his debut for the Super Eagles on 25 March 2022 in a goalless draw against Ghana.
Recalling the activities that led to Lookman’s switch of allegiance, Pinnick beamed with pride as he asserted that it was not an easy process: ““I recall just before he (Lookman) played his first game for Nigeria. There were documents or correspondence he needed. I had to rush to Ikoyi club to meet his dad in ensuring I get it personally,” he said.
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”A lot of people called me to talk about this and the role that I played but I didn’t want to. I wanted everything to be organic and thank God it went well. We are all very proud of him but this should be a turning for greater things to come,” he added.
The former NFF president also revealed the role he played in Musa’s inclusion in the 2018 World Cup squad where the Super Eagles legend shone: “I recall when Musa was about to be dropped in about 2 or 3 matches to the World Cup because he wasn’t playing for Leicester amongst other issues. I called the coach and said Musa must go for the game,” Pinnick asserted.
”At the end, Musa was the hero in 2018. I am not giving myself credit but there are some things God just imputs in me to do,” he disclosed.
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